


I should have kissed you here

by Annie_H85



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 16:46:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie_H85/pseuds/Annie_H85
Summary: Best friends still have secrets





	I should have kissed you here

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't written anything in over a decade but was inspired by something Dominique posted on Instagram. This is the result.   
>  Non-beta'd so all mistakes are my own. Constructive feedback is appreciated. Let me know what you think.

I Should Have Kissed You Here**

Waverly drove past the house every day on her way to work. Everyday she told her self she wouldn't look. Everyday she wouldn't acknowledge the lie. No matter how hard she clenched her jaw or her hands on the wheel, her eyes had a mind of their own. Each glance a little higher until she was finally seeing the wooden railing of the second floor balcony.   
The balcony where she had spent many a night curled up in a sleeping bag next to her best friend. Talking into the wee hours of the morning until both succumbed to slumber. Each memory bringing a small sad smile to her face. All except for the last one. If she dwelled on that one she would have to fix her makeup in her jeep before heading into her shift at Shorty's , so she resolutely pulled her eyes away and started counting in the many languages she was studying, until she felt the moisture leave her eyes. Maybe tomorrow she wouldn't look. 

** 3 Months Previous**  
3:15pm Purgatory High

 

" Can you believe we're finally free of that place?!" Squealed Waverly.   
"Waves we still have graduation tomorrow." Laughed Nicole.   
"Yes but that's on the field. I never have to step through those doors again!" Was the reply.   
Nicole just chuckled and threw her oversized basketball bag into the back of Waverly's jeep. She only lived four blocks from the high school but ever since Waverly got her drivers license the shorter girl had insisted on picking her up and dropping her off. No matter that she had her own car that she could drive.   
" You still coming over tonight?" Asked the red head.   
" Wouldn't miss it for the world." Waverly answered.   
'Tonight. You tell her tonight' Nicole thought to herself. 'Can't just walk away without telling her'. Nicole lost in her own thoughts didn't realize they had pulled up to her house.   
" The sooner you get out the sooner I can come back you know." Laughed Waverly.   
" Oh right. See ya later Waves!" Nicole hopped out grabbing her bag and sauntering to the house. 

**5:00pm Haught Household**

Walking into the Haught household Waverly felt the heaviness in the air. Something was off. The usual chatter from the kitchen was absent. The drone of the television not echoing down the hallway.   
"Nicole?!" Waverly called out.   
"Up here!" Came the hoarse reply from the up the stairs.   
Hearing the tears in her friends voice Waverly rushed up the stairs to Nicole's room. Finding the girl on the balcony staring off into the horizon.   
"What's going on Nicole?"   
She watched as Nicole visibly shuddered. Obviously holding back tears.   
" I don't even know where to begin. Other than to tell you i'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Waverly had to strain to hear the words whispered in the air.   
" Whatever you have to tell me Nicole I can take it. I didn't even bat an eyelash when you told me you were gay. Give me a little credit here. " Waverly's joking tone did little to quell the tension.   
" God I wish it was just that. I..... I just don't want things to change between us but it's too late. I'm in too far and you deserve better." Choked out Nicole.   
" What do I deserve better than Nicole? I'm lost. I just want to help you." Waverly reached out to put her hand on Nicole's shoulder, not hiding her shock when Nicole winced away.   
" Please don't. If you touch me i'm going to lose my will to say this. I just....... I need you to know I didn't plan this and I can't stop it. Oh how i've tried. " Her tears came freely now, Nicole decided to just rip her wounds wide open and let them bleed.  
"I've been in love with you for over a year now. I know you don't feel the same. I know you love Champ and are going to get married and have all those little rodeo star kids you deserve. So I was planning on leaving after Graduation tomorrow. I've been accepted to the police academy in the City and the summer semester starts next week. I just couldn't leave without telling you."   
Waverly shocked by the admission could only stand there with her mouth wide open not uttering a word.   
" You don't have to say anything. I don't need you to tell me it's ok because it's not. I know you can't feel the same way about me and that's fine. I just wanted you to know that if I stay away it's not your fault. I want you to be happy but I can't stay here and watch it be with someone else." With those parting words Nicole grabbed her suitcase off her bed and started to walk out of her room.   
"Wait I thought you were leaving after graduation?" Waverly was finally able to say.   
Nicole stopped in the doorway and replied " I'm just going to have my parents pick up my diploma. The last bus to the city leaves in an hour and my aunt has already said I can stay with her. I can't pretend to just be your friend anymore and you deserve to not have to pretend tomorrow."   
"When are you coming back?" Waverly took a step into the room.   
" I don't know if I am." Nicole looked down at her shoes.   
" So you're just going to leave without giving me a chance to process this? I haven't even had time to think about it. " Waverly said angrily.   
"There's nothing to think about Waves. You're straight and I've fallen into the lesbian cliche of being in love with my straight best friend." Both girls were openly crying now. " Just please don't hate me too much. Be happy. Learn all those languages you talk about. Keep reading those history books you love. Don't let anyone tell you you aren't special because you are. You are the most special thing in this godforsaken town Waverly Earp."  
With those parting words Nicole took off down the stairs and out the door. Waverly overcome with sadness collapsed onto Nicoles bed. Weeping into the pillows. 

That's where Nicole's mother found her the next morning. Gently shaking the girls shoulder to wake her up she said " Waverly i'm sorry to wake you but graduation is in a few hours and if you don't want to miss it you should head home."   
Slowly Waverly sat up and rubbed her swollen eyes. " Did you know? Did she tell you what she told me?"   
Mrs. Haught gave the young girl a sympathetic look. " She told me last night when I took her to the bus station. That's why I didn't bother you last night. I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry for the way my hard headed daughter went about it but she wouldn't be my child if she hadn't. We're not exactly known for being tactful."   
"Can I just stay a bit longer? I can't say goodbye just yet."   
"You stay as long as you need. Come back as often as you need. You're like a daughter to me too Waverly and you will always be welcome here." Mrs. Haught pulled Waverly into a gentle hug before leaving the room and shutting the door. 

Waverly wandered out to the balcony. Mirroring Nicole's pose from the previous night. Scuffing her foot on the floorboards she began to think about all the things that were said last night and all the things she hadn't said last night.   
She hadn't had the courage to tell Nicole that she had been questioning herself more and more on how she looked at Nicole, how she lingered just a bit longer in their hugs, held her hand more often, or would catch herself thinking of her when Champ was slobbering all over her neck. In fact she had dumped him after she dropped off Nicole yesterday. Not for Nicole of course but because she knew he wasn't her soulmate. The more she thought about it the more she realized that she was as in love with Nicole as Nicole was with her. Did she dare disturb the universe as her favorite poem asked?   
Quickly grabbing her purse from where she dropped it yesterday, she grabbed her phone. Hurriedly unlocking it and pulling up Nicole's number. Hitting the call button she put the phone up to her ear only to hear Nicole's phone going off in the bathroom. 'Did she forget it or intentionally leave it behind so I couldn't contact her?' Was the thought that came to Waverly's mind.   
Walking back out to the balcony she slumped down into her favorite spot right outside the door. Looking straight ahead at the slats of wood, she could see the initials that she and Nicole had carved the first night they had spent out here. That gave her an idea. She could leave a message for Nicole if she ever came back. Jumping up she ran to the desk and opened the top drawer knowing that's where Nicole left her utility knife. Grabbing it and heading back to the balcony she was unsure what to carve. After a few minutes of debate she settled on the words she wanted to say and began to carve them just above their initials.   
Six words later her arm was fatigued with the effort but she was done and the message would stay until either Nicole came home or someone changed the wood on the balcony. 

**Back to the present**

Nicole's heart hammered in her chest as the bus pulled into Purgatory. She still wasn't sure why she had come back during the break between semesters but her mom was insistent on seeing her. She grabbed her book bag from the seat next to her and rose to exit the bus.   
As soon as she stepped down she noticed her mothers truck parked right out in front of the lot. She didn't take two steps before her mother was running towards her and enveloping her in a tight hug.   
" I've missed you child. It hasn't been the same without you stomping around the house. " exclaimed Mrs. Haught.   
"Mom I do not stomp around. I missed you too. Aunt Cheryl says hello by the way." Nicole said removing herself from her mothers embrace.   
"I'll have to call her one of these days and thank her again for taking you in while you're in school." Her mother said absently while getting in the truck. " Oh by the way I haven't told anyone you were coming but I think you should. "   
"Mom please don't start. I've only been here five minutes. She's probably forgotten all about me. At least I hope she has. "   
The rest of the drive was taken in silence. Neither woman knowing quite what to say to alleviate the awkwardness after the mention of Waverly.   
"I'm kind of tired mom i'm just going to go upstairs and lay down for a bit" Nicole said as she walked into the house.   
" Sure dear. I'll make something simple for supper in awhile. " Her mom answered.   
Nicole slowly made her way upstairs not sure she wanted to be in the same space where she had broke her own heart. Opening her door tears came unbidden to her eyes. Roughly wiping them away she resolved to not break down until she was truly alone. She pushed the pain back into the tiny corner of her mind it had sprung from. Turning on her light she looked around to see nothing had truly changed. There was her basketball trophy on her desk, her warm up jacket casually tossed on her chair. Turning to the bed she realized maybe something was different. ' I swear my bed was made before I left' she thought as she pondered her bed.   
"She stayed here a couple nights. Cried her self to sleep that first night. "   
Nicole jumped at her moms voice from the doorway.   
"Sorry didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask if you mind if we order out tonight? I don't really have the energy to cook."   
" That's fine mom. You know what I like from wherever." Nicole said.   
" Okay. I'll be back in a bit." Her mom replied heading downstairs. 

**30 minutes later**  
Nicole sat on her bed staring at her phone charging on the night stand. Not sure if she wanted to turn it on and see the phone calls and texts from her angry former best friend. She knew she had no one to blame but herself for all of it. She just didn't know how to fix it or if she could.   
" It won't bite you you know." The voice from the doorway startled Nicole once again tonight. " Your mom said you were hungry and imagine my surprise when she said you were here."   
"Waves....."   
" Don't Waves me." The shorter girl snapped. " You left me."   
" I left for you. I left so you wouldn't have to pretend to still be my friend. I left so you could be happy without seeing me hurt because of it. I shouldn't have come back." Nicole turned to walk out to the balcony.   
" Wait before you walk out there answer a question for me. Do you still love me?" Waverly words almost a whisper.   
Nicole not turning around squared her shoulders and looked at the brunettes reflection in the glass of the balcony door. "I'll never stop loving you. " Pushing the door open she stepped out onto the dark balcony. Trying to put some distance between herself and the one person she knew could absolutely destroy her.   
The balcony lights turned on momentarily blinding Nicole made her stop halfway to the railing. Slowly she turned around and looked at the silhouette of Waverly in the doorway.   
"What do you want from me. I've already ruined everything. I can't keep opening this wound up again. It'll bleed me dry!" Nicole practically shouted at the younger girl.   
" I want you to turn around and see you were all wrong about me."   
Confused Nicole complied with the request. Staring straight ahead she didn't see the new words carved into the railing.   
" You never did learn to look down to my level to see my world." Waverly said impatiently.   
Blushing at the accusation Nicole spread her gaze down the wooden rails of the balcony. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the message so roughly carved.   
"Waves what is this?"   
"After you left me I spent all night crying into your pillow. Wondering how I was going to live without you. How I was going to wake up in a Purgatory that you no longer called home. I thought all night about how I couldn't imagine life without you and it made realize something about myself. " Waverly offered. " You know what I figured out?"   
Nicole could only stand in silence not able to talk past the lump in her throat. Realizing Waverly was expecting an answer she shook her head hoping the smaller girl would understand.   
Waverly smiled and continued " I realized that all those things we spoke about doing after graduation: skydiving, traveling, eating exotic foods, doing things that scare us were nothing without you. See the thing that scares me the most, that I want to do most in this world is you."   
Blushing at the double entendres in Waverly's words Nicole could only come back with " I scare you?"  
"Yes, but only in the best possible way. I'm scared i'm not good enough, i'm scared i'm not going to make you happy, i'm scared I don't know how to do this." She confessed.   
Nicole moved closer to Waverly. "Oh sure you do" she answered pulling Waverly into her arms. Resting her forehead against the shorter girls , not moving forward. Leaving the final step for Waverly.   
"I think maybe you should stop talking." Waverly was not sure where her bravado came from but she's happy it's made an appearance.   
" Maybe you should make me." Dimples on full display through her smirk Nicole had no time to think before Waverly's lips were on hers. She's pushed back into the railing momentarily giving Waverly control. Neither girl knows how much time has passed before Nicole reached down and picked Waverly up. The shorter girl instictively wrapped her legs around the red heads torso. Moving into the bedroom she gently set the smaller girl down on the bed. Lips never breaking contact while hands began to roam.   
"Wait Waves" Nicole said slightly pulling back when she felt hands opening her shirt. " We should wait." Softly smiling at the frown on Waverly's face. " I just want you to be sure. I don't want to go to fast and scare you away. Let me take you out. Not just as my best friend but as my girlfriend?"   
Waverly could only nod her head at first, emotion closing her throat. " I would really love that Nicole. Can I stay with you tonight? I'm just not ready to let you out of my sight yet."   
"Absolutely Waves. In fact i'd love nothing more. First though come with me." Gently getting up from the bed she reached back for Waverly's hand. "Bring your phone".   
Waverly confused complied with the request. She's gently being pulled onto the balcony, light still blazing. Nicole sat down and pulled Waverly into her lap. "Let's get a picture with your masterpiece baby."   
Holding the phone out angling it just right Waverly snapped the photo. 

The photo holds the place of honor above the fireplace in their first home. Waverly smiling brightly into the lens while Nicole has her head turned kissing her on the cheek. The words 'I should have kissed you here' carved into the wood above their heads.


End file.
